Occupational Therapy

Services

We provide evaluations and individualized or group interventions, as well as caregiver education. Our group programs are listed below.

PathwaysPathways is a group language therapy program designed for children ages 3 to 5 years with limited, but emerging, expressive language skills. The goal of Pathways is to help children with autism spectrum disorders generalize skills learned in one-on-one settings to more complex social settings.

Bridges
Bridges is an integrated occupational therapy and speech pathology group program for children ages 4 to 6 years with autism spectrum disorders. Bridges helps children improve social pragmatic interactions with peers.

STAR GroupThe STAR (Strategies & Tools to Attend & Regulate) group is a program designed for children ages 5 to 9 years to develop self-regulation techniques to monitor, maintain and change their level of alertness to improve attention to activities. A prescription from the child’s pediatrician for an Occupational Therapy evaluation is required. Following the evaluation, the therapist will determine if the child is appropriate for the group.

Little Steps for Little FeedersLittle Steps for Little Feeders is an early intervention group facilitated by an occupational therapist and speech-language pathologist for children, age birth to 2 years old, with the following feeding problems:

Aversion to feeding

Failure to thrive

Recent G-tube placement due to poor progression with oral feeding

Following a comprehensive individual evaluation, the occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists will determine the suitability of the child for this program. The group intervention focuses on:

Peer modeling/parent support and caregiver education

Oral/sensory stimulation

Exploration of tastes and textures

Gross and fine-motor activities

Progression to and with oral feeding

A prescription from the child’s pediatrician with a referral to Little Steps for Little Feeders is required. For more information or to make an appointment, please call 858-576-1700 ext. 5522.

Feeding Team Intervention GroupThe Feeding Team Intervention Group seeks to promote food interaction in a fun, safe and social setting. Many children who have been evaluated by the Feeding Team can benefit from this program.

Each feeding group of five to seven children is led by a speech therapist and/or occupational therapist. While the group is in session, a parent group, led by a developmental psychologist and dietitian, observes the children behind a one-way mirror. This process allows parents to share their experience with other parents in a structured, supportive environment and enables them to perform the interventions at home.

We currently offer this program for preschool and school-aged children who are developmentally ready to separate from their caregivers, to benefit from peer modeling and to sit at the table for 30 minutes.

Consultations for Specialty Clinics

Along with offering these programs, we provide consultations to many of Rady Children’s specialty programs and clinics, including: